Tubular magazine firearm with loading port in side of magazine



1962 P. A. LA VIOLETTE, JR 3,018,577

TUBULAR MAGAZINE FIREARM WITH LOADING PORT IN SIDE OF MAGAZINE Filed001',- 20, 1959 INVENTOR P401. 4, [AV/04a r75, J2.

A Armamm are TUBULAR MAGAZINE FIREARM WITH LOADING This inventionrelates to an improvement in the loading of tubular magazines forautomatic, semi-automatic and manually operated firearms and inparticular to means for facilitating rapid loading of such magazines.

At present a tubular magazine may -be loaded by insorting cartridges byhand or by use of a charging device through a loading port in theunderside of the magazine or through the open end of the magazine. Theusual procedure for loading through a. port in the underside of themagazine involves turning the firearm upside down so as to expose theloading port of the magazine and withdrawing a spring-loaded innermagazine tube past the loading port. With the firearm held in one hand,cartridges are inserted by the other hand one at a time into the loadingport. Usually the hand which inserts the cartridges into the magazine,is filled With as many cartridges as it will hold. Each cartridge mustbe selected by means of the fingers of the same hand which holds themand then properly positioned in the loading port so that it will dropinto the magazine. The procedure is substantially the same when loadingis done through the forward end of the magazine except that the innermagazine tube has to be completely withdrawn. In either case the loadingprocedure is cumbersome and slow, considerable difiiculty beingexperienced when loading is done hurriedly or with cold fingers.

Up to the present time no simple, inexpensive mechanical device orarrangement has existed which facilitates the quick, easy loading of atubular magazine. It is therefore a primary purpose of this invention toprovide a unique construction and arrangement of the magazine and barrelwhereby the disadvantages of previously available apparatus can beavoided.

Magazine charging devices have of course been developed in an attempt tofacilitate the loading of tubular magazines. However, such a deviceconstitutes a separate and distinct piece of equipment which is usuallydesigned to contain and dispense a cartridge of a particular size. Whena charging device is used, quick loading is undoubtedly effected. Butthe practicability of such a device is, for the most part, limited toshooting galleries and the like where the marksman is supplied withloaded firearms or with several charged magazine tubes for each gun. Insuch cases the rifles are usually all of the same caliber, thuspermitting the use of the same devices for loading all the guns. Underthese circumstances, the unimportance of the additional weight of andspace taken by the charging devices, the danger of loading by hand inpublic places and the convenience of the customer all amply justify theuse of charging devices.

On theother hand, for certain types of shooting, such as hunting andgame shooting, charging devices offer little or no advantage and, infact, can be distinctly undesirable. For example, the weight and bulk ofhunting equipment which must be kept to a minimum are further increasedby the use of magazine charging devices. Furthermore, devices of thiskind constitute an additional expense which is further increased wherethe charging device requires a modification of the magazine. But evenmore important than this, if the charging devices need to be reloaded bythe shooter while he is hunting, he might as well fill the magazinedirectly as to reload the charging devices, because refilling themagazine directly is no more difiicult, and may be easier, thanreloading the charging devices under these conditions. Therefore,considering the disadvantages of added bulk, weight and expense whichmagazine charging devices entail, an important object of my invention isto provide a magazine which can be loaded quickly and easily without theuse of charging devices.

In brief, the invention involves locating the cartridge loading port ofa tubular magazine so that it is substan tially in the trough formed bythe barrel of the gun and the magazine, such trough forming a track orramp along which the cartridge can be guided into the loading port.Thus, since it has heretofore been impractical for one reason or anotherto provide positive means by which to guide each cartridge one-by-oueinto the loading port, the mere manipulation of a cartridge to insert itinto the magazine has been rather tedious and irritating. This is due tothe fact that the loading port has invariably been located in theunderside of the magazine tube directly opposite the barrel or at theend of the magazine and can be located only roughly by eye and thenguided into the port by the touch of the fingers. Even then it isfrequently necessary to shift the cartridge both laterally andlongitudinally in order to get it lined up properly with the port. Thisis even more time consuming and tedious when the hands are cold or whengloves are worn.

The present invention virtually does away with all fumbling andawkwardness of this kind by providing a positive guide for thecartridges into the port, this being accomplished without increasing theexpense of the magazine in the slightest or, for that matter, withouteven the need of addtiional parts or manufacturing operations. Theinvention therefore overcomes, wholly or in large part, thedisadvantages and difiiculties which have attended the various loadingmethods and procedures used heretofore and accomplishes this in a mannerwhich is simple, effective and economical.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of. a practical embodiment of theinvention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichFIG. 1 shows a rifle having a tubular magazine construction arranged andpositioned in accordance with. the invention and illustrating how thecartridges are guided between the adjacent surfaces of the barrel andmagazine into the loading port;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, partially broken. away and partially insection, of the barrel and magazine of a tirearm embodying theinvention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view in side elevation showing thecartridge loading port; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3showing the position of. the cartridge loadin-g port with respect to theunderside of the rifle barrel.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a rifle 10 with a stock 11,barrel 12,. tubular magazine 13 and cartridge loading port 14. Thecomponent parts of the loading and firing mechanism have not been shownsince any one of a number of different actions might be used.

The tubular magazine 13, which is basically conventional inconstruction, comprises an outer tube 15, and an inner tube 16 fittingwithin the. open end of the outer tube for telescoping movement into andout of tube 15'. A pin 17 and slot 18 at the front ends of the magazinetubes are provided for securing them together when fully telescoped. Theinner tube carries a cartridge follower and spring 19 which urge thecartridges in the magazine rearwardly toward the receiver 20 of the gun.Magazine 13 is positioned along the underside of the barrel 12 so thatthe longitudinal axes of the tube and barrel are substantially parallel,with the rear end of magazine'13 ex- D tending into receiver 20. Theforward end of the outer tube of magazine 13 is supported and secured tothe barrel by a bracket 21 while the rear end is fixed in a bracket 22in a manner which will be described hereinafter.

In order to load magazine 13, inner tube 16 is unlocked by rotating itso that its locking pin 17 moves into the longitudinal portion of slot18, and tube 16 is then drawn forwardly out of the outer tube 15 untilthe cartridge follower (not shown) is forward of loading port 14, all inaccordance with the conventional practice. Cartridges 23 can thenbeinserted into loading port14. Cartridge loading port 14 is shaped in theusual manner so as to preclude insertion of the cartridges through it inthe wrong direction. Thus, the width of port 14 is greater than thediameter of the body of a cartridge 23 but is slightly less than thediameter of the rim of the cartridge. Port 14 is also cut away at itsrear end on both sides at 24 to permit the rim of the cartridges to passwhen located properly with respect to loading port 14. As each cartridgeis inserted through port 14 into magazine 13, it slides rearwardly bygravity, the gun being held with the muzzle pointed upwardly in order toeffect this. When as many cartridges as the magazine will hold have beeninserted, the inner tube 16 is telescoped rearwardly around thecartridges within tube 15, compressing follower spring 19 so that thecolumn of cartridges within magazine 13 is urged rearwardly toward thereceiver in order to feed the cartridges one-by-one into the loadingmechanism (not shown).

It will be noted from the drawings that the outer surfaces of barrel 12and magazine 13 form between them a kind of guide-trough 25 extendingaxially of the gun, in which one or more cartridges to be loaded intothe magazine can be cradled as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. Thepresent invention involves the positioning of the magazine close enoughto the barrel so that this trough may act as a guide or ramp bypreventing cartridges of given size from passing between the barrel andmagazine, and in positioning the loading port substantially in saidtrough such that the latter positively guides and directs the cartridgesinto the loading port.

To this end, cartridge loading port 14 is formed in the side wall of theouter tube 15 so that it obliquely faces barrel 12, thereby opening intotrough 25 as illustrated in the drawings. As a result of the proximityof port and trough, the cradled cartridges 23, if placed in a row alongtrough 25 as shown in FIG. 1, can be shifted longitudinally into lateralalignment with port 14 so that they will drop one by one through theport and into magazine tube 14. It will be seen, therefore, that theposition of cartridge loading port 14 with respect to the underside ofthe barrel and the trough is of the utmost importance in this invention.In what is at present regarded as the best practical embodiment of theinvention, port 14 is positioned so as to allow the cartridge whenshifted into lateral registry with the port to drop from its cradledposition in the trough into the magazine Without requiring lateralmanipulation on the part of the loader. This is accomplished by locatingthe center line of port 14 in a plane, represented by the line ab inFIG. 4, passing through the longitudinal axes of magazine 13 and of acradled cartridge 23. However, accurate alignment of the loading port inthis manner is not essential so long as the port is in a position wherethe cartridge will readily pass through port '14 when in lateralregistry therewith in trough 25.

In the arrangement shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one cartridge is shown as ifheld in trough 25 by means of the fingers rather than in a column asshown in FIG. 1. Since loading port 14 is here located directly in linewith cartridge 23, the rim of the cartridge will drop somewhat into port14 when it reaches the forward part of port 14 as the cartridge isshifted rearwardly to bring it into lateral registry with the port.Since port 14 is narrower than with cut-aways 24, the rear end of port14 acts as a stop to prevent any possibility of a cartridge beingshifted so rapidly along trough 25 that its rim could go on past thecut-aways 24 without permitting the cartridge to drop through.

Even if port 14 is not exactly centered with respect to the cartridgesin trough 25, there is a tendency for the head of the cartridge to twistor shift laterally toward the port as the cartridge is moved along port14 so that the cartridge rim usually is guided between the longitudinaledges of the port before it reaches the cut-aways 24. However, if theport is for one reason or another located so far out of line that therim of the cartridge does not drop into engagement with both sides ofport 14 as it is moved rearwardly along the port, the cartridge rim willnevertheless ordinarily catch in the adjacent cut-away 24 whereupon thecartridge can then be readily shifted laterally into position directlyover the port so that it will pass through into the magazine.

The appropriate position of the loading port with re spect to the trough25 for the cartridge to move, unobstructed, into magazine 13 can bedetermined by reference to the angular relationship which exists betweenthe crosssectional center line ab of the loading port 14 and the centerline designated ac common to both the barrel 12 and magazine 13. In FIG.4 this angle is designated as x, its magnitude in any particular modelof firearm for providing the most satisfactory position of the cartridgeloading port depending on the outside diameters of the gun barrel andmagazine tube, as well as on the diameter of the cartridge and thedistance between the longitudinal axes of the barrel and magazine. It isof course necessary in order to satisfactorily carry out the presentinvention to locate the magazine with respect to the barrel so that thespace between them is not greater than the diameter of the cartridgeused. On the other hand, the magazine may, if desired, engage the barrelso long as a trough is formed between them in which cartridges can becradled in accordance with the present invention.

In assembling the magazine tube 15 on the barrel 12, it is of courseimportant to be sure that loading port 14 is properly positioned withrespect to trough 25. To this end, tube 15 is provided with an aperture26 adjacent its rear end at the point where it is supported in the rearmounting bracket 22. Bracket 22 has a hole 27 of the same size asaperture 26 in tube 15 drilled in its under side, while a recess 28 isformed in its inner surface opposite hole 27. By positioning aperture 26of magazine tube 15 in registry with the hole 27 of bracket 22, apointed tool (not shown) having a shank the same size as holes 26 and 27can be inserted through said holes in order to deform the upper side oftube 15 into recess 28, thereby staking it in place. Aperture 26 must ofcourse be in proper angular relationship with the loading port 14 inorder to make the foregoing assembly operation possible. This is readilydetermined by the angle x (FIG. 4) referred to hereinbefore.

The most desirable position in which to hold the rifle while loading istilted sideways so that loading port 14 is facing upwardly. In thisposition, trough 25 will cradle cartridges 23 as shown in FIG. 1. Withthe inner tube 16 withdrawn from the outer tube 15 beyond the cartridgeloading port 14, the cartridges can be shifted longitudinally in trough25, through loading port 14, into magazine 13. Where feasible severalcartridges can be lined up in trough 25 in a column and then movedrearwardly into port 14 either manually or by simply lifting the muzzleof the gun so that they slide by gravity. On the other hand, it is alsoeasy to load the magazine even if it is necessary to hold the rifle withport 14 facing down. In that event the cartridges are pressed upwardlyby means of a persons fingers against trough 25, slid longitudinallyinto registry with port 14 and then pressed upwardly through said port.In any of the various ways in which the present magazine can be loaded,it is of course desirable to have the muzzle of the gun pointed upwardlyenough to make each of the cartridges slide rearwardly in magazine 13 assoon as it passes through port 14 so that the succeeding cartridge canenter the magazine. When the magazine 13 has been loaded, the inner tube16 is returned to its fully telescoped position within outer tube 15 andsecured in place by manipulation of the locking means provided therefor.

In the foregoing description of a certain specific manner of carryingout the invention, reference has been made to a rifie since the loadingof this type of firearm is very easily and quickly accomplished by meansof the present invention notwithstanding the problems of size and weightpeculiar to this type of firearm. It is to be understood, however, thatthe invention is not limited entirely to rifles.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tubular magazine type of firearm, the combination comprising abarrel, a magazine tube adjacent said 25 barrel and extendingsubstantially parallel thereto, said barrel and magazine tube formingbetween their outer surfaces a trough capable of receiving andlongitudinally guiding cartridges to be loaded into said magazine tube,a wall of said magazine tube having a cartridge loading port openinginto said trough whereby cartridges cradled in said trough arepositively guided between said barrel and magazine tube substantiallyinto said loading port.

2. In a tubular magazine type of firearm, the combination comprising abarrel, a magazine tube secured to the underside of said barrelextending substantially parallel thereto, said barrel and magazine tubeforming between their outer surfaces a trough capable of receiving andlongitudinally guiding cartridges to be loaded into said magazine tube,a wall of said magazine tube having a cartridge loading port elongatedlongitudinally of said magazine and opening into said trough wherebycartridges cradled in said trough are positively guided between saidbarrel and magazine tube substantially into said loading port.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 48,622Gray July 4, 1865 417,595 Sneider Dec. 17, 1889 719,807 Johnson Feb. 3,1903 2,472,678 Pickron June 7, 1949 2,845,738 Butler Aug. 5, 1958

